The Golden State Warriors have released guard Chris Paul, who had until Sunday’s deadline to secure his $30 million salary for this season, the team announced.
Paul is now an unrestricted free agent.
Paul, a 12-time NBA All-Star, accepted a reduced role with the Warriors last season, coming off the bench for the first time in his illustrious career. He averaged 9.2 points and 6.8 assists in 26.4 minutes.
The 39-year-old veteran was acquired last summer for Jordan Poole – a move that now amounts to a pay cut, as Paul’s contract is being voided without reason.
The Warriors initially moved up Paul’s guarantee date so they could explore trade opportunities, but nothing came of it.
In addition to shedding that salary, the Warriors are likely to play next season without Klay Thompson, who is an unrestricted free agent and looks increasingly unlikely to resign from the team he has been with the past 13 seasons. That leaves the Warriors with $147.2 million in committed salary for next season, and they enter free agency as a non-taxpayer middle-tier team.
They will have a mid-level exception and a biennial exception of $12.8 million to use on free agent signings.
Meanwhile, Thompson plans to hold discussions with the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers in the early hours of free agency, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Thompson’s tenure with the Warriors is coming to an end, as the relationship between the two sides has deteriorated and contract talks never resumed after last summer.
The mid-level exception offered to him by the Lakers may not be enough to bring him to Los Angeles, but Thompson is willing to listen to lucrative offers and opportunities, sources told ESPN.
